Life-rail, cap-course, and gutter construction.



J. F'. BOORABM. vLIFE BAIL, GAP COURSE, ANDGUT'TBB, GoNsTRUcTIoN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 164, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

2/ l p Y. A

JOI-IN FRANCIS BOORAEIVI, OF GREENWICI-I,

CONNECTICUT.

LIFE-RAIL, CAP-COURSE, AND GUTTER CONSTRUCTION.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known t-hat I, JOHN F. BOORAEM, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Greenwich, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and Improved Life-Rail, Cap-Course, andGutter Construction, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to life rail, cap course and gutter constructions,of the kind used in relation to indoor or exterior swimming pools andsimilar bathing fixtures.

The particular purpose ofmy invention is to construct a combined liferail, cap course and gutter, so as to form a suitable boundary for anindoor swimming pool, the life rail being made up of units held togetherpartly by vtheir settings and partly by the aid of one or more tie rodsor tie wires threaded directly through them, the cap course being builtof separate units through which are threaded tie rods binding them t0-gether, the gutter being thus made of units of improved form. Referenceis to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecication, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective showing a portion of a swimmingpool provided with my various improvements; Fig. 2 is a view partly insection and partly in elevation, showing the construction andarrangement of the units used in my improved life rail, cap course andgutter; Fig. 3 is a substantially vertical section upon the line 3 3 ofFig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow and showing how thevarious units are tted together at the point where the section line istaken; Fig. 4 is a section upon the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrow, and showing the relative positions of thevarious units at the particular point represented by this section line;and Fig. 5 is a section upon the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrow, and showing the parts as they appear at thisparticular point.

A number of tile bricks, or marble slabs, or mosaic tiles or some solidconcrete members 6 are formed into the wall of the pool which isprovided with a bottom of tile brick 7, the wall and its bottom beingbacked by a lilling 8 of concrete. A number of uni-ts 9, each havinggenerally the form of a brick or slab, are fitted together so as to formSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 16, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911. Serial No. 582,349.

the life rail. At 10 are units having generally the same cross sectionas the units 9, but curved or mitered, and thus formed into cornerpieces which are employed for the purpose of avoiding obvious difficultyat the corners. Each unit or brick 9 is provided with an upper convexsurface 12 having generally a curved surface, preferably as shown, butwhich may be varied. Each of these units is further provided with anextended portion or heel 11. The purpose of the heel is to anchor theunit in position. Each unit 9 is provided with a number of channels 13extending entirely through it and Vdisposed parallel with each other,these channels being formed in the unit at the time when it is molded.The corner pieces 10 are also provided with these channels. Steel tierods 14 extend through one or more of the channels 13 for the purpose ofholding the various units 9, 10 together in the form of a continuouslife rail. But metal ties are not necessary, as cement filled in theholes, with the heel under other construction, is more than suiiicientlystrong.

Gutter bricks are shown at 15, 15a, 151 and are disposed at slightlydifferent levels, these bricks being slightly inclined for this purpose,as will be understood from F ig. 2. A portion 16 of the filling 8 ofconcrete or other material having suiiicient strength, supports thegutter bricks 15, 15215", and forms a setting for the same. The gutterbricks 15, 15a, 15b are slightly concave, as will be understood fromFig. 2. Resting upon the gutter bricks, 15, 15a, 15b, and also beingslightly concave, are a number of inverted gutter bricks 17, 17 a, 17 h;these form the upper halves of the gutter units.

A number of bricks 18 of suitable form are used together in forming thecap course. Each brick 18 is inclined slightly and is provided with anoverhanging portion 18a of convex form, and is further provided with anumber of separate channels 18h. Threaded through the bricks 18 is a tierod 19. At 18C I employ miter bricks as corner pieces, the tie rods 19extending also through these miter bricks. The concrete 8 while in aplastic state is formed around and back of the gutter bricks andrail-heels 11. My purpose in inclining the bricks 18a is to facilitatethe floor drainage.

Connected with the tie rods 141, 19, at intervals are anchor links 21,22, each having the form of a small rod or wire and provided at one ofits ends with an anchor rod 23. In order to fit the anchor links 21, Q2into position in the joints between the units the latter may be chiseledslightly on the ends inside and below the level of the gutter bricks, ifnecessary, to make room for the links. Ihe tie rods are concealed forthe reason that they do not protrude through any part of the unitsordinarily visible.

The tie rods and tie wires as well as the anchor links are preferablymade of noncorrosive material, so as to remain unaffected by the actionof any water which may reach them at any time. They are not absolutelyessential.

Drainage pipes are shown at 24 and are connected with the gutter at thelowest level thereof. These drainage pipes are provided with slantingportions 25 each connected with a discharge pipe 26 indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2. The Water level of the swimming pool is indicated at27. The life rail (made up of units 9, 10) is at all times exactlylevel, and the top of this rail coincides with the upper level of thewater 27. Any impurities floating upon the water are thus carried off,being drifted over the rounded surface 12 of the life rail and allowedto run o in the gutter which, as above indicated, has generally asloping form. In order that the drainage may be thorough, I recommendthat the branch pipes be made sufliciently large and that thesurrounding portions 25 be so formed and proportioned as to have notrouble in carrying off the water. It will be noted, however, that sofar as the appearance of the various parts is concerned, the sloping` ofthe gutter is not objectionable because, practically speaking, it isinvisible.

At 28, immediately over the gutter bricks 17, 17a, and under the capcourse, are portions of the concrete, which constitute a filling, thegeneral thickness of which tapers slight-ly, in order to compensate forthe varying thickness of the portion 16 of concrete below the gutterbricks 15, 15, 15b.

From the foregoing description the operation of my device will bereadily understood.

My invention relates, in a large measure, to the parts used inconstructing the swimming pool, and consequent-ly my device comes intouse mainly during the operation of building. The various units beingfitted in position, as above described, and the tie rods 14, 19 beingthreaded through and secured in any convenient manner, the device isready for use.

The swimming tank construction above described possesses quite a numberof advantages as regards the life rail, cap course Copies of this patentmay be obtained fo ve and the gutter. The device presents a complete andeflicient surface drainage system, capable of removing all scum, driedskin, saliva and other floating substances from the surface of thewater, and prevents accumulation of the same in the tank where otherwiseit would tend to collect. The necessity for cleaning the tank istherefore reduced to a minimum. All drippings from the bathers and dirtfalling from the feet of observers standing upon the floor, pass intothe gutter rather than into the water to be used for bathing. The actionof the life rail is such that there is a constant flushing. The liferail being exactly Vat the waters edge and being perfectly level iswithin easy reach of the swimmer; such being the case, the life rail ismuch more convenient and practical than is the case with festooned liferopes or rigid railings mounted above the surface of the water.Moreover, the life rail described is much more effective for the reasonthat it is more easily gasped by any swimmer and especially by one whois nervous, excited or frightened and thus in more or less danger.

I do not limit myself to the use of any particular material to be usedin the construction above described. I recommend, however, that thebricks employed shall not be provided with soft lead glazes but ratherwith hard pure enamel on a fire clay body, thus being able to stand theheat, cold and various changes due to the varying quantities ofdampness.

IIa-ving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a wall for retaining water or the like, a fillingat the top of said wall, said lilling being provided with a slopingchannel, and a plurality of units provided with shelves for extendingunder said channel, said units being formed into a life rail.

2. In a gutter, the combination of a plurality of bricks provided with asurface, to be used as the bottom of a gutter and further provided withsurfaces for engaging a life rail, and a plurality of inverted bricksengaging said first-mentioned Abricks and providing surfaces for formingthe top of the gutter, said inverted bricks being further provided withsurfaces for engaging a cap course.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN FRANCIS BOORAEM. lVitnesses C. A. GARDNER, C. ELLIOT BLADES.

cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

